I have always been in favor of the little things in life … they are what I remember most and what I hold most dear. Although I may be a few days late, this season (and the long amount of time in the car traveling for it) reminded me of a few things of which I am thankful for right here at APR.

I am thankful I work for a company that closes the day after Thanksgiving … saved a PTO day Friday!
I am thankful for the flexibility to work a 9-6 day … gave me an extra night in NYC last night!
I am thankful for the ability to give back through our charity initiatives … gives me the opportunity to touch numerous great causes.
I am thankful for my FSA … which allowed me to save up some holiday spending money without realizing it.
I am thankful for extended lunches … I don’t miss an episode of Days of Our Lives while getting in a run at the gym.

I know that many companies can boast that they offer some of the basic “benefits” that I mentioned above … but what I am most thankful for recently is the owners of this collection agency who have done little things that have left a really positive impact on me:

I am thankful for Matt Moskowitz who went out and bought Dunkin Donuts coffee while I was in Michigan this month because he thought I might miss that piece of home. That was really cool Matt!

And I am thankful to Jeff DiMatteo and his wife Vernice who signed up to run at my first 5K this December. Yes they are runners and will be joined by friends … but they have no idea how excited I am that they’ll be there when I finish (way way behind them both!)

It is the little things that matter in life; the taking 5 extra minutes to make someone else smile; and it is the people that we surround ourselves with that will help shape our memories into what we want them to be. I am thankful this season to find those moments, those memories and those people right here at APR.

We’ll be hitting the road in the next couple of weeks and meeting a bunch of you who work in the lawn care and landscaping professions. A couple great shows and conferences line our schedule in the coming weeks and our team is looking forward to meeting yours.

First up; our own Andy Yavello will be attending the Weed Man National Conference on November 30 and December 1. Those of you who have talked to Andy or met him in person know that he’s a real pro when it comes to knowing the lawn care business. He has tons of clients in this industry and they all have a great amount of trust in him. He really is the go-to guy in lawn care collections.

One thing he is sure to point out when you see him is the great relationship both companies have with PLANET. With special pricing for members, the combination of being a PLANET member and working with this collection agency gets you back on track with your receivables and back to serving your customer.

This is now the time of year to really get your business in order and take care of the things you may have neglected such as your accounts receivables. So if you’re at the Weed Man National Conference, please stop by and say hello. And check out the video below about what we do for the green industry.

I had a great opportunity recently to be part of a segment on Fox News in Boston on what to do when a collection agency calls you. Now, most of the time you see someone in our industry on TV, it’s not in a good way. But I have to hand it to the folks at Fox 25 in Boston, they used our expertise in this industry and let us educate their viewers on what to do if you are called or contacted in some way.

Here is what we talked about and my tips that we discussed on air;

Validation:-make sure you know the debt is yours and legitimately owed. You can very simply do this by acknowledging that you do owe the debt or if you have some doubt, ask the person that has contacted you about the debt to send you back up documentation.

Communicate-Don’t avoid or ignore calls or letters. If you owe the debt, avoiding communication will only continue collection activity. Most of the time, a mutual resolution to the debt owed can be worked out so it’s in your best interest to return the call and try to work it out.

 If you truly don’t owe the debt, inform them, so the collection activity stops. Again, if you ignore the calls, you will not have the chance to inform them of this.

Work out a payment plan-be honest, work out an arrangement and stick to it or communicate. Pay what you can afford. As I said in the interview, collection agencies want to see intent. Most businesses and agencies will work out a payment plan if you cannot afford to pay of the entire debt.

Get Help-If you need help get it. If you cannot pay your bills or are in debt, a consumer needs help to get out of that situation.  We have told you about the website Ask Doctor Debt before. www.askdoctordebt.com. It’s a great resource for folks that are having trouble with their finances.

Check out the TV segment below;

Manage Your Money: Collection Agencies: MyFoxBOSTON.com

Every once in a while, work can be fun!! Check out who I met while working GIE in Louisville, KY last month …

Do you use agreements or contracts with your clients? Do you know if that contract is actually legitimate and covers you fully in the event of someone not paying you?

Agreements between a business and the consumer set the expectations for each other right up front. I will provide this service or product to you and you will agree to pay my company the agreed-upon amount of money in the agreed-upon timeframe. Now just for the record, we are a collection agency and not a law firm … so although we recommend you use contracts with all clients you perform a service for, we highly recommend such contract is reviewed by your attorney for all specific state and local laws. 

Here are a few tips or best practices we have observed on how to make sure you’re covered in terms of getting paid: 

Having a contract is better than not having one: If you are providing a service to a customer such as lawn care and landscaping, you should have a signed agreement. Check with an attorney for the best approach.

Payment Terms: The terms of any payment arrangement should be as clear as possible and within your state law. When you sign the agreement with your customer, you should make sure they fully understand your expectations and review theirs. You can go as far as to have them initial specific clauses in the contract.

Late fees: Although we recommend not adding any fees to the principal balance, if you insist on adding a billing fee or late charge these amounts must be extremely clear in the original signed agreement. Consumer laws such as the FDCPA state that you cannot tack on late fees after the fact. Starting the collection process and then adding on late or undisclosed fees will surely get you in trouble.

Sending accounts to a collection agency: You should be very clear in your agreements about what happens if customers refuse to pay.  In your contract you should also state what action will be taken when payment for services is not received in the timeframe agreed to. If an account is not paid within that timeframe, it should be clearly stated that the account will be turned over to a collection agency for recovery. We recommend turning accounts over at 60 days past due. Keep in mind, if you state you are sending someone to collections, you must follow through and you must have the means to do so.

Want more advice? Check out our Ask APR video on Net 30 payment terms: